ABOUT ME

I was born in 1979 in the Dutch town of Hoorn, 40 km north of Amsterdam. In 1997 I followed my language sensitive heart’s desire by enrolling as a student of Spanish Language and Literature at the University of Amsterdam. My love for both Spanish and the history of the Iberian inhabitants grew fast. This culminated in spending the third year in Vitoria, capital of the Spanish Basque Country. Fully immersed in my chosen language, it took next to no time for me to dream, think, eat and drink only in Spanish.

In 2004, I found my way back to the Iberian Peninsula. A translation agency in Málaga offered me a chance to put my linguistic skills to the test in a commercial environment. I past and over the year I spent there, I developed a preference for English > Dutch and Spanish > Dutch translations of prosaically tainted corporate letters and press releases.

Beside my studies and work, I have always nurtured my passion for language in more creative ways. Inspired by everyday occurrences, I have composed diaries, poems and journalistic articles. In 2003 and 2004, for instance, I wrote several interviews and background pieces for Amsterdam local magazine De Eilander (The Islander). Before this, I was chief editor at El Mensajero (The Messenger), the main platform for Spanish Language and Literature students at the University of Amsterdam. Its contents varied from essays on Spain’s television culture to poetic reviews of camping holidays.

In December 2005 I became a freelance translator. I was fortunate to start off with an English to Dutch translation assignment from my beloved world of football. Subject at hand was the Official FIFA World Cup 2006 Guide, which was published in two volumes, one in January 2006 and one in April 2006. Shortly after this, Dutch magazine Intermediair asked me to write a piece on the job market for PhD students in their special PhD Edition 2006. I also produced three of the student portraits it contained.

The next stage of my career was reached by the autumn of 2006. During a year and half, I was a technical editor, English > Dutch translator and project manager for a Japanese publishing agency in Amsterdam. Becoming familiar with automotive jargon I did not only improve my translation skills, but it also allowed me to see translators from a client's point of view.

By February 2008 I resumed freelancing under the name LangPep. Since then, I have contributed to the launch of Dutch footballers Rafael van der Vaart, Wesley Sneijder and John Heitinga’s official websites. This indirectly led to my interviewing Feyenoord captain Giovanni van Bronckhorst for the Official Arsenal Magazine of November 2008.

In my current activities, I’m finding ways to make my creativity and translating experience go hand in hand. For major companies like Global Listings (UK), Blondé (Belgium) and Libero Language Lab (UK), I work on translations for sports and television, which require a style that appeals to a large audience. Beyond commercial interest, I provide translation and editing services on a pro bono basis to NGOs such as Fairfood and FreeVoice, which fight for fair and sustainable food trade and freedom of press, respectively.